Germany’s Butlers plots UK comeback

German homewares retailer Butlers, which offloaded all but one of its UK shops last year, is gearing up to open a tranche of new stores.

Butlers, which scaled back its UK operation in early 2008, wants to open about seven shops in the London region. It is searching for units of around 2,500 to 3,000 sq ft in
locations such as Kensington High Street, Westbourne Grove in west London, the Brunswick Centre and Tottenham Court Road in central London, Uxbridge, Richmond and Kingston upon Thames.

Butlers launched in the UK in 2005 with ambitious plans for 80 stores within 10 years. It opened six stores across the UK but took the decision to retreat at the end of 2007 after high property prices and a faltering homewares market left it floundering.

The retailer has appointed property agency Harper Dennis Hobbs, which sold off its original shops, to search for new sites. Harper Dennis Hobbs director James Ebel said: “The last time, Butlers found the occupation costs too high for an expansion compared with those they have in Europe. Now they have seen that the market conditions have changed in the UK and they feel they can exploit the opportunity.”

In its previous roll-out, Butlers opened in Islington, Knightsbridge, Bluewater, Manchester, Solihull and Kingston upon Thames. The Islington shop is the only one it didn’t sell off.

Several overseas retailers have struggled coming into the UK, many retreating because of the high property prices or because they opened in the wrong locations. Hong Kong-based Esprit and Japan’s Uniqlo, for example, both set out ambitious plans in the UK when they first debuted, only to scale them back soon after. However, both have now found their feet in the UK.

Butlers was founded in Cologne, Germany, in 1999. It has 50 stores across Germany and expanded overseas in 2005, opening in Switzerland and Austria, as well as the UK. It also has franchise stores in Dubai, Greece, Slovenia and Hungary.